LionAll right, I'll go in there for Dorothy - Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch - guards or no guards - I'll tear 'em apart.Ohhh! I may not come out alive but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellas to do.Tin Man and ScarecrowWhat's that?LionTalk me out of it.

LionAll right, I'll go in there for Dorothy - Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch - guards or no guards - I'll tear 'em apart.Ohhh! I may not come out alive but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellas to do.Tin Man and ScarecrowWhat's that?LionTalk me out of it.

Of all times to get frivilous on us, you choose this one. Right as I was about to upload this pic.

I'm starting to talk myself into the Sox looking good for this season! I did this last year too...talk me out of it!!!

-They're banking on Lester and Buccholz bouncing back, while hoping Lackey sees success he hasn't yet seen in Boston, and bringing in another closer, this one from the NL, to pair with the previous closer who is now the setup guy because he couldn't hack it in the AL East.

-Ortiz, at 38, needs to do what he did at 36/37, not 34-36.

-They're hanging high hopes on Napoli, who currently is dealing with BONE DEATH in his hip. A guy that has never really been a full time player, hardly been a 1B...now needs to do both, in the AL East.

-Ellsbury needs to produce like in 2011, unlike in 2012, 2010, or 2009.

-Pedroia needs to get beck to being the player he was pre-2012. This one I actually believe is likely.

Why do you want to go into the season thinking your team stinks? My adivce? Stay positive.

BTW, waiting for it to all go south is what we Sox fans do best. But you cannot wait for it all to go south, if you already think things are south! Hope springs eternal for the boys of summer...for every true fan of every team, everywhere. That is what being a fan means, IMO.

I'm starting to talk myself into the Sox looking good for this season! I did this last year too...talk me out of it!!!

You're supposed to go into the season thinking you're going to win. There is no reason to be a fan otherwise. I'd expect no less from 29 other teams. Even if you were an Astro fan, I'd expect you to find something to root for, even the draft.

- I can't think of a single reason why not to expect Lester from bouncing back. I would actually lean on saying that it is a sure thing.

- Health is the only thing that will keep Buch from bouncing back.

- Same for Ellsbury. Given that last years injury was a freak accident, and that he is in a contract year, I would actually lean on saying he is a sure thing as well. Maybe not quite to his MVP type of seaon, but very productive.

- Pedi had a down year last year and no reason to think that he won't be back to his old self.

- We will also have Middlebrooks for the entire year which is a very promising scenario.

Of course you can never predict injuries. But, it is not like these guys are getting old or have been showing decline in the numbers from the past few seasons. So, you have to expect a much better chance of them getting back to the way they normally are rather than staying the same or getting worse.

I also think that with Lackey now noit being hurt, and knowing his type of personality, will want to prove everyone wrong and should be decent anyways. Although I would say that Lackey is as sure of a thing as the previous guys I just mentioned.

I see you've got your list out, say your peace and get out. Yes I get the gist of it, but it's all right Sorry that you feel that way, the only thing there is to say is... Every silver lining's got a touch of grey. I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

Up until the mega-deal last year, we were 9 games out of the WC with 35 games left. Still a chance to make the PS, albeit a slim one. So, unless management decides to blow up the roster again, and we are looking at .500 ball at the AS break again, don't count the Sox out.

The roster is pretty much cobbled together, but there are guys, Gomes, Vic, Dempster and now Sweeney, with something to prove. Like anything else, they have to believe in themselves. Heart is the one intangible that seems forgotten.

Up until the mega-deal last year, we were 9 games out of the WC with 35 games left. Still a chance to make the PS, albeit a slim one. So, unless management decides to blow up the roster again, and we are looking at .500 ball at the AS break again, don't count the Sox out.

The roster is pretty much cobbled together, but there are guys, Gomes, Vic, Dempster and now Sweeney, with something to prove. Like anything else, they have to believe in themselves. Heart is the one intangible that seems forgotten.

+1

and you wanna talk about people with something to prove?? how about the underachievers who were on the roster last year?? Pedey, Ells, Lester, Buch, Bailey and Bard among others. Then you have guys like Drew and Lackey who are trying to re-establish their value. No one is expecting big things from us this year. This is the perfect preamble for some good baseball. No lofty expectations, NO Bobby V to make any situation worse and invite drama. Just Guys with grit and pride who are determined to break the conceptions people have of them. IDK about you guys but i'm glad we're low key this season. Looking forward to hearing about baseball and not secret text messages or dysfunction.

Allibike does it once again. He pretends to be a concerned Red Sox fan and chums out some bait behind his fishing boat and behold he gets a school of irritated fans to follow and grab the bait. The fish never learn. The other boats in the harbor are owned by Schumpeter, Georom, and Softlaw.

You literally JUST made this post on a different thread timestamped for 8:05 PM

In response to LR3683paw's comment:

Sound like a lot of fans want Rice, Lynn, and Evans back or maybe Williams, Piersall, and Jensen.. True. Many of us also want our deceased parents back too. Nobody ever promised you a rose garden.

Be a fan and stop the crying, whining, pouting, and little boy tantrums. If you can't handle the cards that you have been dealt then follow another team or else stop watching baseball. Go to the beach, go hiking, sailing, or traveling this summer. Life is too short to be so negative and miserable all of the time.

So at 8:05 you tell people to lighten up, BE POSITIVE!! and stop being such negative nancies. Then at 8:12 you harp on this thread because Ali had made a positive post. Please troll somewhere else pike.

and you wanna talk about people with something to prove?? how about the underachievers who were on the roster last year?? Pedey, Ells, Lester, Buch, Bailey and Bard among others...

I felt the same after the collapse of 2011. I expected some players to have chips on their shoulders with something to prove in 2012. That didn't seem to materialize for various reasons, including key injuries.

I'm holding out hope, but I'm not sure we can count on this motivational strategy in 2013.